Could billionaire Steve Cohen be selling of pieces of his prized art collection to pay for his mounting legal bills?

Cohen, the founder of hedge fund SAC Capital, which is currently under intense government pressure to settle on accusations of insider trading, is planning to sell two major paintings by Andy Warhol and a piece by artist Gerhard Richter from his collection, according to a report in the New York Times.

Cohen has been ranked number two among billionaire art collectors in the world, based on the value of the collection, by wealth research firm Wealth-X. The collection is said to be worth $1 billion.

Hollywood mogul David Geffen ranks number one on the list with an art collection worth $1.1 billion.

The two Warhols up for sale were both painted in 1963 by the American pop artist. The first one called \”Liz #1,\” is an image of actress Elizabeth Taylor on a yellow background and is expected to sell for $20 million to $30 million, said the report. The second piece, \”5 Deaths on Turquoise,\” is expected to sell between $7 to $10 million.

SAC Capital has been in intense negotiations with the government to settle on the case by pleading guilty to insider trading charges and paying a penalty as large as $2 billion, according to media reports. Prosecutors have accused Cohen’s firm of being a “magnet for market cheaters.” SAC Capital has denied any wrongdoing.

Bloomberg

Steven Cohen, chairman & CEO of SAC Captial Advisors

Cohen has been under pressure to raise funds as clients have asked the firm for redemptions in the last year and several former employees have been charged and convicted for insider trading.

Among his other pieces, Cohen owns Pablo Picasso\’s \”La Reve\” which he reportedly bought for $155 million and a recent purchase includes a shark floating in formaldehyde that is formally titled \”The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, by British artist Damien Hirst.

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